Related papers: Shape Driven Solid--Solid Transitions in Colloids
We show that two-dimensional systems of deformable particles undergo a continuous liquid-hexatic transition upon compression or cooling, but no hexatic-solid transition-even at zero temperature and high density. Numerical simulations reveal…
We report the structure of transient fluctuations in the liquid phase of a two-dimensional system that exhibits several ordered phases with different symmetries. The density-temperature phase diagram of the system studied, composed of…
We experimentally investigate the nature of 2D phase transitions in a quasi-2D granular fluid. Using a surface decorated with periodically spaced dimples we observe interfacial tension between coexisting liquid and crystal phases.…
As phenomena that necessarily emerge from the collective behavior of interacting particles, phase transitions continue to be difficult to predict using statistical thermodynamics. A recent proposal called the topological hypothesis suggests…
We study the 2D crystalline phases of paramagnetic colloidal particles with dipolar interactions and constrained on a periodic substrate. Combining theory, simulation, and experiments we demonstrate a new scenario of first-order phase…
Mixed-order phase transitions display a discontinuity in the order parameter like first-order transitions yet feature critical behavior like second-order transitions. Such transitions have been predicted for a broad range of equilibrium and…
Morphogenesis involves the transformation of initially simple shapes, such as multicellular spheroids, into more complex $3D$ shapes. These shape changes are governed by mechanical forces including molecular motor-generated forces as well…
Active solids such as cell collectives, colloidal clusters, and active metamaterials exhibit diverse collective phenomena, ranging from rigid body motion to shape-changing mechanisms. The nonlinear dynamics of such active materials remains…
A wide range of disordered materials, from biological to geological assemblies, feature discrete elements undergoing large shape changes. How significant geometrical variations at the microscopic scale affect the response of the assembly,…
Review of selected fundamental topics on the interaction between phase transformations, fracture, and other structural changes in inelastic materials is presented. It mostly focuses on the concepts developed in the author's group over last…
Despite the fundamental importance of solid-solid transformations in many technologies, the microscopic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we explore the atomistic mechanisms at the migrating interface during solid-solid phase…
Mechanical metamaterials are periodic lattice structures with complex unit cell architectures that can achieve extraordinary mechanical properties beyond the capability of bulk materials. A new class of metamaterials is proposed, whose…
The steady sliding state of periodic structures such as charge density waves and flux line lattices is numerically studied based on two and three dimensional driven random field XY models. We focus on the dynamical phase transition between…
A spherical model of skeleton with junctions is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. The model is governed by one-dimensional bending energy. The results indicate that the model undergoes a first-order transition separating the smooth…
In a recent class of phase field crystal (PFC) models, the density order parameter is coupled to powers of its mean field. This effectively introduces a phenomenology of higher-order direct correlation functions acting on long wavelengths,…
Multi-step pathways, constituted of a sequence of reconfigurations, are central to a wide variety of natural and man-made systems. Such pathways autonomously execute in self-guided processes such as protein folding and self-assembly, but…
Amorphous topological states, which are independent of the specific spatial distribution of microscopic constructions, have gained much attention. Recently, higher-order topological insulators, which are a new class of topological phases of…
Specialized Monte Carlo simulation techniques and moment free energy method calculations, capable of treating fractionation exactly, are deployed to study the crystalline phase behaviour of an assembly of spherical particles described by a…
Liquid electrolytes adsorbed at the surface of metallic electrodes display a multitude of structures that can largely differ from the parent bulk system, both in terms of composition and local organization. In particular, the existence of…
We study the phase behavior of hard spheres confined between two parallel hard plates using extensive computer simulations. We determine the full equilibrium phase diagram for arbitrary densities and plate separations from one to five…